Oh hello, Marans!

When we first got into raising chickens, we researched many different breeds. We knew that we wanted to get Buff Orpingtons because they’re a great utility breed. Then we were gifted three Easter Eggers and immediately fell in love with them. But we knew we wanted to raise a whole flock of one specific breed to keep in a dedicated coop. A breed that was really special, unique or rare. It wasn’t long before we discovered the Marans breed. They’re a rare breed that lays a coppery-chocolate colored egg, which is really badass. They’re also James Bond’s favorite egg… mega badass. We had to have them.

The Marans breed originated in France in the late 1800’s and eventually made its way to America in the 1930’s. The French standard calls for feathered legs and the English standard is bred for clean legs (we’re breeding for the French standard because it looks like they’re wearing leg warmers and it’s really cute). They’re a great utility breed, meaning that they are good layers and good for the table. But what they’re most known for are the dark chocolate brown colored eggs they lay. Marans eggs are rated on a color scale from 1-9. In order to be considered a true Maran, a hen must be able to lay at least a 4 on the color chart.

We had decided on a mixture of Black, Black Copper, Blue and Blue Copper Marans… we just had to find them. After months of searching for the right breeder and waiting for the right time, we were able to get our first batch of Marans chicks! A mix of seven healthy and happy 1 week old chicks. Eventually we’ll build our Marans flock to breeding quality so we can sell chicks/hatching eggs but for now, we’ll just enjoy their chocolate eggs.

Here’s one of our blue marans chicksLook at those fancy feet! And its little copper head!The original seven of magnificent marans!Here’s our first batch of marans chicksCadillac is very curious and confused as to why there are tiny, jumping peeping things living in his house.